在今年中期选举拉开帷幕之际，最受关注的竞选议题之一便是选举本身。自从美国总统唐纳德·特朗普首次敦促红州绘制新选区地图以赋予共和党候选人选举优势以来，美国就陷入了一场历史性的选区重划之争；今年春天，最高法院废除了《投票权法案》的大部分内容，使这场争端更加白热化。这一具有里程碑意义的裁决导致全国各地以黑人为主的选区被取消。
In the runup to this year’s midterm elections, one of the defining campaign issues is the elections themselves. Ever since President Donald Trump first urged red states to draw new maps to give Republican candidates an electoral edge, America has been caught in a historic redistricting fight, which was supercharged this past spring when the Supreme Court gutted much of the Voting Rights Act. That landmark decision led to the elimination of majority-Black districts around the country.
与此同时，总统一直在推动可能限制投票权获取的立法，并利用总统职位的舆论影响力，虚假宣称存在普遍的选民欺诈。甚至有人担心，特朗普可能会利用行政部门的权力干预选举本身。
Meanwhile, the president has been pushing legislation that could restrict voting access while using the bully pulpit to falsely claim there’s widespread voter fraud. Some even fear Trump could use the power of the executive branch to interfere with the election itself.
“我担心这个吗？当然担心，”参议员亚当·希夫（民主党-加利福尼亚州）说。“不仅是担心，我们正在尽一切努力保护我们的选举。”本周在节目中，主持人阿尔·莱特森采访了这场美国历史性投票权之争核心的三位人物：希夫；“黑人选民至关重要”组织联合创始人拉托沙·布朗；以及传统基金会选举透明度倡议主席肯·库奇内利。
“Do I worry about this? Damn right I do,” says Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). “And more than worry about it, we’re doing everything we can to protect our elections.”This week on , host Al Letson talks with three people at the heart of this historic fight over voting rights in America: Schiff; LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter; and Ken Cuccinelli, chairman of The Heritage Foundation’s Election Transparency Initiative.